Thrush, Trimming, Updates, and, umm...More.

Hello!
Long time no post...I actually had pictures for both of the last Sunday Stills posts but just somehow...never got around to posting...

SOOO much has been going on with Daisy and I since the cross country schooling, and yet nothing has happened...

The schooling brought up various questions about Daisy's soundness and life has a barefoot horse that I really needed to sort out...I actually have each of the questions written down, and answers, but...I don't feel like sharing. Not today...maybe another day. Or maybe never. I can't decide...partially because the answers contain words that could be considered, um...offensive, I guess, to certain people...who will probably never read this, anyway, but I'd rather not share right now :).

ANYWAY, I need to say a BIG thank you to Mrs. Mom especially for being willing to email me, answer questions, look at my photos, give me advice on Daisy's thrush, etc...you were SUCH a help, I SO appreciate it! Thank you very, very, very much!

Daisy did have thrush...it's gone now, I'm pretty sure. It was still lingering in her right hind last Monday when my trimmer came, but I've been ACV spraying, and it's gone.

And now, DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
I TRIMMED DAISY'S HOOVES LAST MONDAY! FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!

Yes, yes, you can stop gushing now. I know, I know, really, please be quiet...I KNOW, stop getting so excited!


(I'm not really sure what made me write that^^)

But for real, I did trim Daisy's hooves...my trimmer gave me one of his old(er) files, and showed me how to trim Daisy's hooves (I'm supposed to remember, BACK 45 degrees! Not in that order...) and next Monday (not tomorrow) I will go about, umm...*trying* to trim her hooves myself. He said I could go ahead and trim her hooves two weeks into the trim...which is cool. I got the whole trimming the edges down fine (at least, the left side, where I can use my right hand...I have yet to try with my left...that will be awkward :P) but I'm a little unsure about trimming her bulbs...that's where the "BACK" comes in...and I go to just about height of the frog...but not lower...and...yeah...we'll see. :P

High school is keeping me very busy these days...*thanks*. :P

I haven't been riding as much...and Daisy's showing it through weight gain (not totally because of lack of riding, though :P) and grumpy (er) attitude (grumpier than the usual grump than she is). I just call her Miss Grumpy these days and scratch her behind the ears more often...the pictures above were from a few weeks ago now.

I went to ride at Jean's yesterday, and am going again on Wednesday...she got some new horses at an auction, and they turned out quite nice. I like them a LOT! :))

Alrighty...well...the chickens got a new coop. So I will eventually be posting pictures of the build and finish on my other blog (Link at the side, over there ------>>> )

Sunday Stills Challenge: Landscape(Fall Foliage)

Hello, Sunday Still-ers! :)

I knew we'd have a "fall foliage" challenge, so I took some fall pics a couple weeks ago...the colors are already fading now, as most of the leaves are on the ground. Fall is my favorite season because of all the color, and the temperature, which is PERFECT for trail riding...and I like hearing the "crunch" of the leaves.

But I wanted to ask; are you sure we shouldn't be doing a "Winter Wonders" challenge right now?

I woke up to this a few weeks ago...that was a shock. I seriously thought maybe I was dreaming.
I wasn't.
Luckily, it didn't last long. :)

And so, without further ado, my Fall Foliage photos (sorry my landscape pictures are limited):

Don't you wish they sold carpets in this color?
That'd be cool.

So this "fall foliage" isn't that colorful...can you tell why?

The flowers in fall really make it feel like "Indian Summer".
That's my dog, Abby, in the backround.

Have a great fall week everyone! (or for some of you, Spring!!)

Check out more landscapes and pretty scenes at Sunday Stills today! Or join in! It's a great motivator to get out and take photos.

Sunday Stills Challenge: Signs of Fall (and also Macro Monday 9/28/09)

I will admit that this week, my entrants were pretty lame...Fall has barely arrived at our house, so there aren't that many "signs of fall" around....I will admit that I went to the archives for the first two shots, taken last year because they are much prettier and more "fall-like" than the ones I took this week...

This is what it really looks like...not very pretty.

These next few are also my entrants for Macro Monday this week...

Now, I have my own personal "sign of fall"...for those (FEW) of you that read my blog regularly, do you notice anything different about my pony? (Besides the fact that she's whinnying adorably at the camera, AND looking at it?)

Her coat is darker...it gets almost liver chestnut in the fall, like her mother (though I've never seen pictures of her mother, that's what I'm told she looks like).

For more signs of fall around blogland, check out Sunday Stills!
Or maybe even join! It's a great way to make yourself get out with your camera and snap pics...although, don't take my word for it, because evidently I'm pretty bad at taking my camera out a lot to get good pics...this week I waited until today to get the pics :P :).

Horsefly Season

Bonjour, my blogger friends!
No, I'm not in France. I'm still in NY, in the height of the horsefly season. AKA, the WORST time of year ever. Even worse then winter.

Horseflies are JERKS. I was wondering already where they were this year, but now I realize they must just not come out until just before fall. These buggers are HUGE. And disgusting, and PAINFUL. I read up about them a bit; these flies have "scissor-like" teeth that slash open the skin of a horse/cow/person, so that the blood comes out and they can lick it off. It's very painful. Luckily, due to them being so huge, they're very easy to smack and kill. However, I must have killed at least 30 or 40 this season already, and they're still there. Of course.

Riding is kinda a pain right now; literally. I haven't been bit, but I DO NOT want to be. They fly all over and threaten biting you. Yesterday Daisy got bit by one while out grazing, and she was bleeding, so I felt SO bad. Today, I had her out to free-graze, and I listened to her outside the window running back and forth to avoid them. She went in her stall, the only place to avoid them, but came back out; poor girl just wanted grass! I had sprayed her with fly spray already, so I was trying not to watch; I knew she wanted to graze, but I hated the flies.
Then I looked out and saw this:


Daisy doesn't normally go in the garage, but apparently she was about to go in, hoping for some relief. And I found these munching happily on her:

OUCH(just so you all know, I killed all three just after the pic was taken).
SO. I stood there wishing I had a flysheet. I've never bought one, used one, never considered one...but then, like *magic*, I thought of my show sheet! And, voila:

I got it on my birthday a year ago from my cousin, Anika, and planned on using it for showing, to keep Daisy clean...I never ended up using it, though, because Daisy never rolls anyway (yey for me!).
Daisy kinda spook at it, though, as she always does when wearing a blanket for the first time in a little while. Notice how her butt is pulled in; yeah, she spooked BAD, trying to run away from herself :-P lol.

Then she was fine. Fly-free and happy, she got to keep grazing. :) yey!

I must say, I think she looks like she's grazing in a pair of pajamas :-P lol

Soo...I imagine I'm not the only one who struggles with the horseflies....what do you do to keep them away??

Until next time,

Quick Update

Wanted to let you know, Daisy was trailered to Jean's today and I rode her in the arena and practiced cantering both leads and she did AWESOME! She picked them up automatically! It's really a miracle; praise God. All our HARD, often times frustrating, work has paid off. Finally. :D

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I rode her in halter and reins again and I cantered her down Jean's driveway; I went to go back up and she picked up a gallop, I tried to slow her down, and the rein broke...so I *galloped* giggling up the driveway, because I knew I couldn't do anything anyway....I figured eventually she'd slow down. So I'm giggling, running past people, and I make it to the round pen to Jean and I just hold up the broken rein and laugh. Figures. :-P

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After trail riding a bit, I came to the barnyard again and cantered a right-lead circle...Daisy cut a tight turn to avoid the gravel driveway, and completely fell over. Sideways. As we went down, I thought about how I always thought having a horse fall on you must be horrible. Well, it happened SO fast, I don't know what really happened. One second I was falling sideways with Daisy in tow, the next, I was sitting on the ground and Daisy was above me, and she put her head down to graze. Silly pony. :-P
I scraped my arm, but am ok otherwise. I can thank God that I didn't get caught in the stirrup, or break a leg or arm...Daisy could have really hurt me. Luckily she stood up fast and I wasn't stuck at all.
Jean had gone in to the bathroom, and came out to her friend informing her that Daisy and I fell. "What? I go in to the bathroom for 5 minutes and she falls off?"
:P
lol

Pictures of the Gatsby

Notice how dark her coat got?! It's crazy!

Thank you, Mom! She took these pictures of Daisy with her blanket this morning...I really really like the Gatsby blanket. It's not one of the more popular brands, but it's obviously a good blanket, and it's built well...some buckles that look like this are kind of annoying because on that first buckle (not the one with the hole that the other one goes in) has a rubber thing on it so that once it's latched, it doesn't come undone easily...this is good, except that it makes the buckles a little harder to close...but I guess it's important to have them, for safety...

Anyway, those are some pictures....

Over and up,

Happy Thanksgiving!

And Now There Are Six

I'm going to tell you a story.

Picture a girl going out for a trail ride, bareback. She heads out onto the trail and doesn't get more then 15 paces before she hears shrieking. She thinks instantly that it sounds like a chicken. A familiar chicken. But surely it can't be a chicken of hers, seeing as how her chickens have been gone now for one full week. She decides it must be a turkey in distress. She urges her horse forward at a trot and peers through the trees, trying to see. Suddenly, movement catches her eye, and the girl spots a very frightened chicken running through the snow covered wood, followed by a very mischievous young cat named Gronemeyer. The girl screams like she's going to die, yelling like crazy to stop the stupid cat from killing the one chicken that made it away from the slaughter man's hands the week before. She hops off her horse, and without really thinking, she snaps her horse's reins to a very small tree branch and races through the woods. The cat is now sitting, content to watch the show, under a tree, while the chicken runs around, bewildered. The girl follows the chicken through the woods. The chicken ambles along, just out of reach of the girl, until the chicken goes just behind the trunk of a tree. The girl stands on the other side of the trunk and peeks around the left side of the trunk. There is the chicken, peeking back at her. The chicken moves to the right side of the trunk and peeks around. So does the girl. This process continues itself as the girl contemplates how to snatch the bird. She decides she has no other choice, and as the bird peeks around the right side of the trunk another time, the girl grabs the bird's tail feathers. The bird cries out, but the girl grabs her and hugs her to her chest. Survivor has been found.

Yes. This is a true story. ;-)

That is exactly what happened to me today. Last week, when the one single bird got away, I honestly didn't think about it. I considered it dead, probably hunted by another animal, and after one day, I forgot about it. I really didn't think I'd see that bird, but to see it running through the woods...well, what a miracle.

Now dubbed "Survivor" for obvious reasons, the Ameraucana hen sits in her chicken coop.

She was so exhausted when she got it, but she ran through the coop like she remembered it. She has lettuce to eat, and scratch, and water, and hay to bed in.

And for a chicken that can survive in the woods, in the snow, when it's 20 degrees at night, for one week, and not die, there is no end in sight. We will keep Survivor.

We're hoping she won't be too lonely. What do you all think? Is it bad to have one lone chicken?

She was actually one of the only two chickens who DIDN'T have a name before.

She does now.

Happy ending?

BTW, I want to give Daisy some credit:

For being tied to a little tiny tree, and her reins literally clipped there, and so close to home, and not even being told to "Whoa, stand" she was great. She stood really patient, and walked along nice while I held the chicken in my arms.
This is good, considering how she was on Saturday.

Now there are six pets.

A Day In The Life...

Of Me:

5:42 AM-

BEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!

Time to get up and go out to the barn to feed Daisy.
Grabbing a bottle of hot water at the same time to give the cats, because by now, there is snow on the ground and their water is frozen.

Later in the winter I will also bring a hot bean bag with me for their comfort.

Scoop Daisy's grain. 3/4 quart sweet feed, 1 1/4 tablespoon of Sho-Glo vitamins, 1 tablespoon of Vita-Calm.
1 flake of hay

5:52 AM-

Head back into the house, after laying out hay for Daisy to eat during the day, which my loving mother gives her throughout the day.

Daisy is spoiled.

5:54-6:30 AM-
Eat breakfast and get ready for school

6:40 AM-
Sit in the car at the bottom of the driveway and wait for the bus.
Board the bus.

6:40AM-7:14 AM-
Ride the bus through the country and to school, watching the sunrise on good mornings....it's very pretty.

7:35 AM-2:15 PM:

School.

Favorite classes: Orchestra and Math. I really like Math this year. I'm taking an algebra class, and the teacher is really nice. I've been playing violin for 5 years and I love it, hence I love orchestra.

Least favorite subject:
French/Earth Science: French used to be my most favorite class, and I was good at it, but this year we have a new (BORING) teacher, so it's not as fun :-/....Earth Science is just stressful and challenging, and I never much liked science anyway....

Subjects in between:
English:...alright...nothing special....English isn't hard for me, but it is for others, so she works making us do stuff that some kids struggle with, and others (like me) already know and get bored with...but it's a decent class, I suppose.

Social Studies:...not as good as all the other years. It used to be my favorite subject, besides Orchestra and French (which I liked before)....social studies is just all about wars lately, and it's not as interesting....

Rotating Classes (switch every 6 weeks):
Computer: Done. Fun class, I have a wpm ave. of I think 85 or 90....I did the final and got a high school credit...It was a class that is better then others.
Health:...Done as of yesterday
This speaks for itself.
Technology:
My next class. Starts Monday. We'll see.

PE:
What can I say? It's a class where you are forced to get all sweaty and then go back to regular classes. "yey".

It's not too bad. I'm learning to enjoy it more.

Home & Careers:

We are learning about the "careers" portion. It's ok....kinda boring, though.

Lunch:
Best class of all.
Cafeteria food as greatly improved this year.

2:15 PM:

My darling mother normally picks me up, or I take the bus.
One day a week at this time I have an extra choir rehearsal afterschool, which takes me up to 3 PM

I go home and ride Daisy, then I clean her stall, bring in more hay to the barn to feed her, and I close her and the cats up for the night. Then I go in, do homework, practice violin, eat dinner, and blog....not necessarily in that order.

Another afternoon a week I have Bible study, too......

So that is my day.

For lack of something more interesting to write.

I just went riding, and when I rode Daisy up the driveway, she was very piggy and stubborn--she wanted to hurry home, and I mean hurry. So I forced her to walk first 10 steps, t then back up 5, then do that over again....then I progressed to 15 steps, 5 back up, then 20, then 25...it took a longggg time to get up the driveway that way, lol, but it calmed her down and she was better behaved.

That is my day.


Sooooo.....yeahh.....

Jax's Attempt at Abducting Daisy

The Mini Threesome

Before I had my own horse, I worked to find as many places as I could that had horses that I could go visit, or ride. When we moved to the road we live on now, I was really excited to see horses stabled behind one of the houses. I introduced myself to the owners, and found out they had three little minis! One is a mare named Jewel, who is chubby and absolutely sweet. Everyone loves her. Then there is Reba, her "sister"...Reba is fun, and has quite a personality. Ladies do, of course, need a little stud to keep them busy, so Jewel and Reba's little man is named Jax...they've never been bred to him, though, but anyway. I took care of the minis, bringing them into their stalls at nights when their owner worked late. Through "working" at that stable, I learned a lot more about the daily care of a horse, and I earned part of the money I ended up using to buy Daisy.

When I got Daisy and moved her to our house, I started visiting the minis. They are Daisy's "bestest friends". She acts like she couldn't care less once she is at the fence, visiting with them, but if we try to pass them without visiting, she 90% of the time puts up a "fight".

Jewel always snorts like a pig (LITERALLY) when Daisy comes, and tries to act "tough"...unfortunately, she is the alpha-mare, and she rarely lets Reba visit with Daisy, even though they don't mind each other.

These are pictures of the minis. Reba is the one with some red coat and a white stripe down her face, Jewel is all black. Jax is in the last pictures.

Video of Jax coming up in the next post. :)

Goodbye, Birdie

Since about September our chickens have been laying less and less eggs, until since October we've gotten only 1 egg a day, one weak shelled egg, if at all.

Chickens are very expensive to feed. And if they aren't giving eggs, it's even worse....(I can't think of a better way to phrase that...it's not meant to sound harsh)...plus, they have a depressing life in winter. They sit in their little house, in the cold, for practically months because of the extreme snow and ice at our house. And it's hard to take care of them as well.

All these factors caused us to make a decision. This may make some of you bloggers out there who absolutely love your chickens to hate us. But I'm being honest. We decided we had to have someone slaughter them. After contacting a person who ended up not taking them, we found a family a few towns away that has had chickens, and has slaughtered roosters and chickens before, and would be willing to do it for us.

So yesterday our chickens left. He seemed like a nice man, and he said he did the deed quickly.

We will not be eating them. We gave them to the man, and we expect to not ever see them again. I couldn't stand eating them.

One chicken actually escaped the box the chickens were being transported in. It got into the woods. Unfortunately, it did not return home. We do not know which one it was.

The chickens are staying with the man to be fattened up more, and then they will be slaughtered.

Today we are 10 animals less in our family. Only 5 now. We will miss our chickens, but this is life. We got eggs from them for a full year, and next spring we hope to get chicks again.

Hope you don't hate us.

The pictures were taken yesterday, as they enjoyed their last supper...although, that is technically their second last supper...the first last supper was red cabbage from the restaurant ;-).

Good bye, birdies.

Million Dollar Blog Award

Lisa, over at Laughing Orca Ranch (one of my favorite blogs (and bloggers)) gave me the Million Dollar Friend award! Thank you SOOO much!!!! And now, I get the honor of passing it on to people. So here we go.

First, I'm passing it on to Southern Commander, who's horse's name is Sonny. Unfortunately, she doesn't have Sonny with her right now :-( but hopefully she'll get him soon!

Annndddd I'm giving it to Sarah! She has a filly named Valley that she's training...

And Farmgirl....because she has a cool donkey...and I like donkeys. And she's nice.

And (I know, you are totally not going to believe this)...I'm going to pass the award on to....drumroll, please...MY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Except I think that passing it on to her makes it the "Million Dollar Mom" award, not friend....but that's ok.

Fall Virtual Trailride Video

New Boots Video